It’s a Sunday night and you live in Southern California, not much to do. Sunday night football, nah. Some 80’s club, west Hollywood, never. How about a 5$ triple bill of Tokyo Police Club, 120 Days and the Lovely Feathers, maybe. Well Sundays at the Echo in Silverlake/Echo Park is host to a little party called Part Time Punks, while usually random bands play and DJ’s spin some wax, this week was a special occasion with a nice little bill for all the indie kids in the know. I was surprised about a few things at the end of the evening but mostly it was the number of kids present, almost twice the amount than the Sunset Rubdown show we attended there a few months back. Yeah I know.

The quick and short of it was the Lovely Feathers (caught their last two songs) seemed to have been slayin it to a half packed house and arguably should have headlined, but apparently had another show to play later that night at the Knitting Factory. Despite this they opened with the energy of a toddler coked out of it’s mind on chocolate. The wild card of the bunch was 120 Days, who saved some face with a slick move of free whiskey, while TPC attempted to finish things off like a proper asian massage although things ended up a little more convoluted than the happy ending we wanted. Good thing we didn’t pay.

My camera man was late to the party so nobody gets to see pictures of the Lovely Feathers however, it’s not a big deal as I only saw/heard two songs, but from that short exposure I’m sure they would have played up to expectations. If you haven’t checked out their 2006 release Hind Legs you should hurry up and get on it. We spotlighted them back in September in our Podcast, but if you weren’t paying attention then, pay attention now, you might not get many more chances to jump aboard their train without getting pegged with poser status. Anybody see their show later that night at the Knitting Factory and want to fill us in on the happenings?

Lovely Feathers – Photocorners (4.3 MB)

Lovely Feathers – E Man Sorrow (3.2 MB)

So this kid liked to drink. He hat attitude. He could move. What else is needed you may ask, well to sing and play music I guess. While not as bad as I imagined, they played a dance-rock, heavy on the keys/synths type music that maybe is hot shit in Norway where they hail from (the singer did have a we-are-big-somewhere type swagger), but in LA the kids didn’t seem to be feeling it even though they did politely clap. One move though, that puts Ådne Meisfjord (just looked on myspace) on the map and makes him a hero among champions, was his attempt to get the front row moving their asses by handing out/pouring free whisky into the waiting cups/mouths of the kids.

‘Now that you gots your whisky, now you can dance!’, he yelled out after finishing the pouring. Now that’s what I’m talking about! Forget yelling at the hipsters about not dancing, or singing song’s about them standing still, hand out some drinks goddammit and do it like they do in Norway. One of the best things i’ve seen at a show all year. Period.

Ultimately 120 Days was a decent band but just not for me. Ådne Meisfjord (singer) was awesome though and made the whole performance with his antics, dance movements and overall stage presence. If I was starting a band I would definitely want him somewhere in my posse, maybe not singing, but definitely onstage to work his magic. If you are in Europe currently go check them out. They are touring there now, so check out their Myspace for details.

TPC busted onto the scene earlier this year, kinda quietly, not much blog love, but a rave little blurb on Insound which ultimately lead me to purchasing their EP A Lesson in Crime and then onto preaching about them to friends. I won’t go into the reasons for this love of TPC, it’s already been put into elegant words here at SRO so go read that.

The band was a treat to see, playing all the songs off their EP while mixing in some new songs maybe from their tour only EP that they seemed to have lost in their van which led us to not trading them 10 dollars for it. Sad. The problem with TPC is that they sounded like shit to be honest. I even heard that muttered from a few people around me as soon as they started. I can’t really fault them though, for their first time out and about, they seemed to be making the most of it and enjoying the hell out it too. The keyboardist Graham Wright was on the same energy drugs as the singer from 120 Days cause he was beating the tambourine like it misbehaved and shit all over the new couch. I seriously felt bad for it.

Overall they put on a good show, got the crowd moving to ‘longtime’ favorites “Nature of the Expirement” and “Be Good”, and kept up the energy with hard/fast guitars and senseless tambourine beating. As for guitarist Josh Hook, man that boy had his shit together. He had mad guitar skills, laying down those screaming guitar lines effortless and flawlessly. If I were a betting man, I’d think he’s the secret of TPC’s success.

David Monks sounded good singing, kept his composure throughout (despite faltering once or twice), and he looked good on stage. If I were an indie rock girl I would definitely want to be in love with him, he just had that look. (Not to lead you astray, but I’m quite comfortable enough in my sexuality to comment on the attractiveness males.)

I can’t help but think that once these guys get some more experience under their Canadian belts and maybe an LP out, they are gonna be selling out shows and dancing the asses off hipster kids across the states. If they could bring that kind of crowd to the Echo on a Sunday, I can see them doing much bigger and better. Be on the look out for TPC when they hit your town. Check the calendar.